When I was about 7 years old, my grandparents were in their 50’s. They all wore hats. It was a normal part of their attire. Many men wore a style of hat called a “fedora.” You see them all the time on the movies from the 40’s or 50’s. At that same time, the women of that era wouldn’t go out in public without a hat; especially to church. A hat was as much a part of her standard outfit as her shoes were. Haberdashers (you don’t get to work that word into your conversation very often) must long for those days; a time when everybody wore hats.
Over the succeeding decades, the use of hats has evolved. For Instance, according to Ken Austin, the first baseball hats were worn by the New York Knickerbockers in the 1880’s and they were made of straw. They were designed exclusively for keeping the sun out of sensitive eyes. But I am sure you have noticed that most of the young fellows of today wear these hats backwards, presumably to keep the sun off of their necks. The coolest guys of all twist the cap slightly to the side so that it only protects one ear from the sun, probably the ear with the biggest earring. In the mean time, they squint to keep the sun out of their eyes. I guess the girls think they look cool like that. A doctors perspective on wearing hats backwards and side ways.
As far as the ladies are concerned, there were two primary reasons women wore hats in the olden days. First, because people bathed less often, and that means they also didn’t wash their hair very frequently; so, hats served to distract from that greasy look. (want proof?) Second, hats were a way for women to make fashion statements. We have all seen pictures of some really creative ladies hats. Some of those hats tower a full foot above the heads of these beauties. They decorated them with colorful feathers, elegant ribbons, fancy fabrics and occasionally some fresh fruit. That probably explains why they went on so many picnics and were destined to have large families.
These days, you just don’t see many female hats wandering around. I think most women wash their hair more often than their great grandmothers did and they use things like foot tattoos to draw attention to their natural beauty. I guess they would rather have their toes sucked than go on a nice picnic.
When I do see a woman wearing a hat, I can’t tell if she is wearing it backwards or not.
Over the succeeding decades, the use of hats has evolved. For Instance, according to Ken Austin, the first baseball hats were worn by the New York Knickerbockers in the 1880’s and they were made of straw. They were designed exclusively for keeping the sun out of sensitive eyes. But I am sure you have noticed that most of the young fellows of today wear these hats backwards, presumably to keep the sun off of their necks. The coolest guys of all twist the cap slightly to the side so that it only protects one ear from the sun, probably the ear with the biggest earring. In the mean time, they squint to keep the sun out of their eyes. I guess the girls think they look cool like that. A doctors perspective on wearing hats backwards and side ways.
As far as the ladies are concerned, there were two primary reasons women wore hats in the olden days. First, because people bathed less often, and that means they also didn’t wash their hair very frequently; so, hats served to distract from that greasy look. (want proof?) Second, hats were a way for women to make fashion statements. We have all seen pictures of some really creative ladies hats. Some of those hats tower a full foot above the heads of these beauties. They decorated them with colorful feathers, elegant ribbons, fancy fabrics and occasionally some fresh fruit. That probably explains why they went on so many picnics and were destined to have large families.
These days, you just don’t see many female hats wandering around. I think most women wash their hair more often than their great grandmothers did and they use things like foot tattoos to draw attention to their natural beauty. I guess they would rather have their toes sucked than go on a nice picnic.
When I do see a woman wearing a hat, I can’t tell if she is wearing it backwards or not.
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2 comments:
Dear teenage boys:
No one cool wears their hat on the side of their head.
Love,
God
Oh my goodness! "they use things like foot tattoos to draw attention to their natural beauty" <---this actually made me laugh out loud! You are so funny!
I wish that hats were back in...the simple ones were so lovely. Maybe I'll just start wearing them anyway. :-)
Loving your blog Uncle David!
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